Vault of the Future
by Explosiveo
Summary: While war rages above, the inhabitants of Vault 101 go about their daily lives unbeknownst to the circumstances of the wasteland. Until they met the most obscure person of Vault 101, life was just peachy for Amata Almodovar and her best friend, Roman Howarth. Will they all walk together or will their lives be thrown into chaos?
1. Quantum Leap

**_Chapter One, Quantum Leap_**

Amata's eyes slowly lifted open. It was early morning in Vault 101; the date being the November the 11th, 2273. Amata's first thoughts weren't of the coming day, the work that she would have to do, or the fact that it was her birthday. No, the first thoughts coming to Amata was that it was early, too early, for her to be awake. All she wanted to do was sleep, something she had little time for, being the Overseer's daughter. Indeed, it was all too common for Amata to be only receiving around five hours of sleep. Amata forced her light sensitive eyes open and went to awake her Pip-Boy 3000 from its low power, resting state.

The clock on the device read 5:59 A.M.

Amata scrambled to turn off the hellish alarm function of the Pip-Boy, in an effort to avoid the coming temporary deafness that would come at six in the morning. Seconds before Amata disabled the alarm, the wrist-mounted computer let out a blaring and ear-splitting _Beep!_

"God, _whhhhyyyyyyyyyyy_?" groaned Amata. She quickly shut off the alarm, slinking out of her bed.

Her feet were freezing against the cold steel floor of the Vault, something she was ultimately used to by now. Tip-toeing over to her dresser, she quickly switch out her nightgown for a clean Vault Jumpsuit. She made her way to the own bathroom, a luxury only her and her father had to share, as everyone else had to use the public toilets and showers, as deemed by Vault-Tec for being too wasteful and resource hogging.

Amata put on her usual little make-up and made her hair into her usual trademark bun, with a few hair strands to spare as per normal. She brushed her teeth and went to put on her old faded blue Chuck Taylor shoes. She walked out into the office space to see her father's office door open. The Overseer was stood in front of the large, circular window overlooking the Vault's atrium, screaming arrogance and self-confidence. Her father stood tall, chin slightly elevated, with his arms behind his back; hands interlocked.

"Good morning, Amata," he said without flinching, seeming emotionless and catching Amata off guard a bit.

"Morning, Father. How did you know I was standing here?" Amata asked, trying to make conversation.

"I can see your reflection in the window," he said, now turning his piercing eyes to Amata, to which she could see him staring right at her, "plus, you made quite the racket getting up."

"Er, sorry, I didn't mean-" Amata said, being interrupted by her father. "Nonsense." he said, turning towards her. "Amata, come here for a second," he said slowly.

Amata unconfidently made her way over to her father, fearing she was in trouble or another lecture. What did she do wrong this time?

"I wish you to have a nice day. Happy Birthday. For today, I have decided to release you from your duties. You may spend your time as you so wish after school today… 'having fun,'" said the Overseer, with a touch of regret in the last sentence. He tried to sound as genuine as possible, _if_ that was possible.

"Oh, great! Thanks, Daddy!" Amata giggled, hugging her father. Amata almost thought her father had forgotten her birthday. It wouldn't have been the first time. She smiled.

Amata went back to her room and finished getting ready. Being her birthday, Amata decided to doll herself up at bit more with make-up and curl her hair for once. Once she was done, she checked her Pip-Boy: _7:26 A.M._

' _Gives me plenty of time to have breakfast with Roman,'_ Amata thought to herself. Amata and Roman had been best friends since before both of them could remember. The pair had truly become inseparable through their youths, mostly due to their almost perfect compatibility for each other. Them being bullied by the wannabe gang, the Tunnel Snakes, and both them being motherless brought them even closer together.

Amata walked down to the Vault's clinic, searching for Roman. Inside, she only found James Howarth, the Vault's physician typing away at his computer.

"Morning, Dr. Howarth! Have you seen Roman around?" Amata asked casually.

"No, I haven't. Roman is probably looking for you actually. I'd check the Café if I were you," said James in his typical positive attitude, not looking away from his computer. "Oh, and happy birthday, Amata," smiled James, turning to look Amata.

"Thank you, thank you," Amata said smiling. She walked out of the Clinic, down to the Diner. She glanced at the time on her Pip-Boy again, subconsciously calculating the time she would get to spend with Roman. Amata felt connected with him, maybe she even liked him, though she would never admit it. But she knew Roman wouldn't bat an eye if she never showed, chalking it up to her being busy.

Without paying attention, she rounded the corner to the Diner and ran into a Tunnel Snake. "Watch it, _Bitch._ " Wally sneered, pushing her back a bit.

Amata quickly caught herself and rolled her eyes, "Oh, good morning to you too, Wally."

"Pft, yeah, whatever," Wally sneered, walking out of the Diner with Paul following him out, trying to contain his laughter.

Amata watched them leave with anger. Their taunts and bullying had progressively gotten worse and worse recently, much to Amata's and Roman's dismay. Amata looked around the Diner to see if she could find her friend. Roman was sitting in the far back corner with a devilish smile on his face. Realizing Roman had seen the whole thing, Amata's face flushed with red.

Roman gave out a laugh that Amata always loved. "Morning, Amata. What's new with you? Oh, and nice hair," Roman said, sitting back in his booth and sipping on his almost empty Nuka-Cola Cherry.

"Thank you! And nothing much, honestly. Nothing exciting. I did manage to finish our class project for Mr. Brotch last night. Did you get it done?" said Amata casually, putting a few of her loose hair strands behind her ear as she sat down.

Roman laughed and downed the rest of his Nuka, "' _Did you get it done?_ ' she says. Hah, no, truthfully I haven't even started."

Amata just shook her head but was not surprised by her friend's major procrastination. "Oh my god, Roman. You do realize it's due in two days, right?"

"Of course I do. The history of Mexican dynasties just really doesn't interest me. I'll figure out something to show Brotch that morning," Roman said as he got up to throw away his empty Nuka-Cola. He made his way over to the vender machine. "Amata, you want anything? My treat," offered Roman.

"No thanks, I'm good. Thanks for the offer though," Amata deadpanned. "Something bothering you, Amata?" Roman said concerned as he sat back down.

"No, I'm fine. My father did give me the day off after class though. He even told me to have fun," Amata said giggled, finally glad to tell her best friend the good news. Roman gave her a disbelieving look.

"No shit," he said with a smile, "that's surprising. I wonder why he'd do such a thing." Roman raised his eyebrow and gave Amata a scheming glance.

Amata scoffed and gave him a playful kick. "Roman St. James Howarth, if you have really forgotten what day it is, we are no longer friends," Amata said playfully, knowing saying Roman's full name bothered him to no end.

"My god, Amata. Say my name one more time and I promise you we will no longer be friends," Roman retorted jokingly, "and yes, I know what day it is. I got yah something."

Amata let out a small gasp and sat up quickly, leaning into Roman looking very interested.

"Wowhoho there, Princess. Not so fast," Roman said chuckling as he poked Amata's nose with his finger, pushing her away playfully. Amata tried to ignore the sudden close physical contact. Unbeknownst to Amata however, Roman always tried to make some sort of physical contact with Amata without making it seem awkward or out of place. Roman loved talking to her and being close to her. _How little he knows_ , Amata often thought. The two of them felt a connection to one another, but never said anything in fear of rejection.

"It's a surprised and you have to wait for it. I'll give it to you later. In private," Roman finished with a wink, happy in his victory against the oh-so-ever impatient Amata.

"You perv," Amata said as she playfully slapped Roman's arm, "just gimme my birthday present already, you slut!" Amata laughed, trying to push Roman out of his seat.

"Keep referring to me with such profanity and I just might relinquish your present for myself," Roman mocked, trying to imitate something her father would say. Amata just rolled her eyes.

"Fine, follow me after class today and I'll give you your birthday present. You'll have to wait until then," Roman said defeated. Amata shook her head whilst smiling, perhaps this wouldn't be such a boring day.

The two ordered breakfast and mostly ate in silence with the occasional joke or statement thrown out. Their classes started at 8:30 A.M. every Monday and Wednesday. For the days inbetween, they had off, due to the Vault only having one classroom with lots of students to teach. Amata and Roman belonged to Group 1, along with the other Vault youths around the same age, such as Butch, Wally, Paul, Susie, Freddie, Christine, and a few others. Group 2, having class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, mostly consisted of other older teenagers and young adults.

Not wanting to be late, the pair disposed of their paper trays and made their way up to the classroom, where they would always find Mr. Brotch welcoming his students first thing. Amata and Roman were the first ones there, as usual, being 10 minutes early. They walked in to find Mr. Brotch not waiting to greet them like usual, in fact he was at his desk talking to an individual unknown to Roman completely.

"Thanks, Mr. Brotch! I'll be sure to let my father know," said the unknown woman, turning away from Mr. Brotch. Roman finally got to see her face.

"No problem, I'll see you tomorrow," said Mr. Brotch. And with that, the girl gave a small wave and strode past Amata and Roman. The girl had long, wavy black hair and piercing green eyes. She was fairly tall, around Amata's height of 5 feet, 8 inches. ' _Her jumpsuit fits way too well_ ,' Amata thought. The unknown girl gave Roman a flirty smile as she walked out of the room. He smiled back, making Amata's heart sink slightly.

"Who was that?" Roman said silently to Amata as he took his regular seat in the front right corner desk. Amata sat down behind him.

"Um, I think that was Hannah Holden, Tom and Mary's daughter," Amata said boredly. She rested her head on her fist with her elbow on the desk.

"Hmm, really? I don't think I've ever seen her before. How old is she?" asked Roman innocently. He sounded interested in whoever his 'Hannah Holden' was, much to Amata's dismay.

Amata tried not to roll her eyes, "Uh, I'm pretty sure she's maybe 16 or 17, I dunno. I know she has a job and stuff, me being the Overseer's daughter and all."

"Hmph, well," he said. Roman turned around in his desk as class was just about to start, "she was cute," Amata heard Roman whisper just barely.

Something boiled deep within Amata, and she began to get very angry at nothing in particular. ' _Am I jealous_?' she thought, ' _you bet your ass I am, Roman.'_

Amata stayed in her sour mood for the good first half of the day but eventually just got over it when lunch time rolled around. ' _It's my birthday today_ ,' she thought, ' _no reason to be mad over something so small, plus I'm getting a present later.'_

Lunch with Roman was pretty normal, having the Tunnel Snakes and the other girls take up all the Booths with Roman and Amata sitting outside with their trays of food. The two made their usual small talk and jokes for the period, eventually being called back by Mr. Brotch. The rest of the day went without a hitch; Mr. Brotch gave his boring lessons, Butch frequently interrupted class to say something stupid, Christine and Susie complained about the learning material, Freddie was clueless, and Roman and Amata were generally silent. Amata and Roman both counted down the last 10 minutes of class in their minds. When class ended 3:30 P.M., the pair were one of the first ones to leave.

"Do I get my present now, Roman?" said Amata as soon as they exited the classroom. Amata was eager for her present, having absolutely no idea what it was. Perhaps a kiss? Amata could only hope.

"Amata, be quiet," Roman said playfully, "just be patient, my darling. You'll get your present soon enough. Follow me!"

Roman started a fairly reasonable jog, having Amata almost sprinting after him. "Roman! Where are we going?"

"You'll see soon enough!" Roman replied, laughing heartedly. They both descended multiple levels of the Vault. The difference in temperature between levels stuck out to Amata more than usual due to their rapid descent. The two past a Vault security guard, going full speed. The guard told them to stop but the pair disregarded the officer, not that the guard cared that much. The two fifteen year olds kept going lower and lower in the Vault. Amata thought it strange as the Reactor level signs came into view. Roman had already shown Amata his shooting range, what would he do this time? The door to Roman's shooting range came into view but they made a different turn to an area Amata had never been before. They ran into the room and Roman quickly shut and sealed the door to the room when Amata finally stepped inside after him. "Stay right there, Amata. Let me go and get your present." spoke Roman quickly as he left Amata alone in the insanely hot room.

It had been over 5 minutes since Roman left Amata alone and her jumpsuit was starting to stick to her skin from all the heat. Finally, the door open and Roman appeared. He held something behind his back. "Amata, close your eyes and hold out your hands," said Roman, sounding excited.

Amata did so, she closed her eyes and held out her hands. Roman let out a chuckle as he laid the present into Amata's hands. She gripped it tightly. It felt hard and cold. Almost immediately of holding it, Amata's hands felt tingly and she threw her eyes open. On her's and Roman's faces was a bluish purple hue of light. Amata gasped.

" _A NUKA-COLA QUANTUM, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"_ Amata screamed, clearly surprised by her present. She hugged Roman super tight, almost enough to crack his ribs. Out of breath, all Roman could do was return the hug and pat Amata's back slowly. "Glad you like it," Roman managed to croak out. Roman was secretly relishing the fact that Amata kept hugging him tightly. He honestly didn't mind if she would never let go. "I love it, thanks so much, Roman!"

Amata finally let go of Roman. He smiled that smile that Amata always loved. Roman's teeth were perfectly straight and were fairly white, he also had just a bit of facial hair, which Amata thought was very attractive. Amata smiled back and Roman looked into her eyes. Roman had always loved her eyes, the deep hazel that they were, being more green than brown. They complemented her face and her dark hair. Her face and skin were completely blemish free and smooth, with a few freckles here and there that Roman thought was adorable. Amata giggled at Roman and his face blushed, not something he did often.

"Taking in the sights?" Amata said in a flirtatious voice. Normally, Amata felt awkward and embarrassed if she had any sort of close contact with Roman but something right now had her at ease. Roman stepped back a bit and ran his fingers through his hair, clearly embarrassed.

Amata giggled. "Seriously though, thank you for getting me this. It must've taken you months to get your hands on it," Amata said seriously. She contemplated not drinking it and keeping it as a souvenir, though the glow of such a beverage would give it away to her overprotective father.

Roman kept running his fingers through his hair, something Amata noticed he did a lot when he was embarrassed. "Well, uh, I know you're practically obsessed with Nuka-Cola so I just thought you'd like this," Roman said, trying to be nonchalant.

"Like it? I love it, Roman. Thank you again. I'm honestly thinking of not drinking it and saving it as a memento," Amata exclaimed.

Roman just chucked, "Yeah, really? And what happens when your father finds it and you get a lecture about healthy diets? He already hates you drinking, like, five bottles of Nuka a day."

"Yeah, I know. I really need to get out of that habit. It's a miracle how my teeth aren't falling out," Amata said, smiling big as to show off her teeth.

"I'm still surprised they're not yellow or crooked!" Roman laughed. Amata gave him a playful shove and started laughing as well. Roman began walking to the door and Amata followed. As Roman was about to unseal the utility door, something sparked in Amata to do something she'd never she would do. Amata grabbed Roman's wrist right before he opened up the door and pulled him back into the room forcefully. "Uh, hey," she said awkwardly.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Yo? You can let go of my wrist now, you know…"

 _ABORT MISSION. ABORT MISSION._

She let go of his wrist, quickly losing all her confidence and certainty. "Sorry, uh, I just wanted to say thanks again for getting me something," Amata said, stuttering a little bit.

Roman knew something was up, but didn't pay it any attention. Amata gave him another hug as thanks and to dissolve any tension or awkwardness there may have been, not that it worked of course. Roman just assumed Amata might be having her monthly flush of blood. He was just rolling with it.

They both pulled away but not quite. Roman's hands fell to his sides. However, Amata still had her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes for a millisecond, working up the courage. Amata finally made her choice…

" _Fuck it."_

Roman's eyes widened but it was already too late. Amata grabbed his face, closed her eyes, and smashed her lips against his. _Definitely not my most graceful moment,_ Amata thought to herself. By this point, Roman's eyes were as wide as they could go but upon realizing what was happening, he closed his eyes too. Amata pushed Roman back against the wall as they kissed. Seven seconds after they started, they pulled away. They looked into eachother's eyes, simultaneously having the look of _'oh shit'_ on their faces. "Amata, I-I-I.."

The pair was interrupted by the clearing of someone's throat. "Ahem.."

The two quickly jumped away from each other, trying to seem as innocent as possible even though it was obvious they were caught in the act and didn't realize someone had unsealed the door for them. They turned their heads to see the mysterious and ever-so gorgeous, _Hannah Holden._ She was caked with dirt and grime, her hair was tied back, and she had visible lines of where her goggles had sat on her face.

"Look, I know you're young horny teenagers and all but this really isn't the place for a make-out session, _especially_ since it's the Reactor Level," Hannah commanded, "and what the hell is that?" She pointed to the glowing glass drink in Amata's hand. Amata stammered, trying to get out a response.

"You know what, I don't even care. Both of you, leave before I have to call Security!" Hannah shouted at them.

Amata and Roman quickly scurried out of the reactor area, eager to leave before Hannah changed her mind. The two quickly slowed to a walk when they thought they were safe enough. The two were silent as they casually ascended the levels of the Vault. The two were close to the Diner when Roman cleared his throat, Amata looked over to him.

"So, um, what was that back there?" Roman said awkwardly. Amata was dreading any mention of the kiss.

Amata slowed her walk. She couldn't look at Roman, she was too embarrassed. "Look… I… I don't know what I was doing," she stammered out.

"Was it your first?" Roman asked, interrupting her.

"Obviously."

"Yeah, mine too. Thank you."

"For what?"

"Kissing me, I loved it. But, like, why?"

"Why, what?" Amata dodged.

"Why did you kiss me?" Roman asked, now a little annoyed at Amata.

Amata was about to reply when a security guard rounded the corner. The guard was none other than Officer Mack. Upon seeing the kids, Mack had to do a double take as he saw the glowing drink in Amata's hand. Mack, loving to start conflict, smiled as he saw the kids stiffen up. He would have fun with this.

"Hey, you two, whatcha got there?" Officer Mack sneered. He approached them confidently, with one hand on his gun holster. Amata just froze but Roman stepped in front of her, directly facing the oppressive Officer Mack.

"Nothing, Officer." Roman said.

"I know you've got a Quantum there, girlie. Hand it over before I have to go and tell your daddy," the officer said, moving in closer to Roman and Amata.

"Officer, with all due respect, today is her birthday. I got her that Nuka-Cola as a present. If you could please-"

Officer Mack interrupted Roman without a care, "Listen kid, I don't give a shit. You know those things are banned for a reason. I bet your daddy wouldn't be too happy if his kid got caught resisting arrest. Now, hand it over before I have to get _violent,"_ Mack said.

Roman looked to Amata as if to say he was deeply sorry. Amata didn't want to hand over her present but she knew she had too. With a sigh, she out stretched her arm, holding the beautiful light generating isotope beverage. Mack snatched it from her hands, catching Amata off guard. "Now, was that so hard? You punks better scram."

Roman and Amata turned and walked off away from the guard. Mack turn back around from where he came from, Nuka-Cola Quantum in hand. ' _No doubt he's taking it to the security room,'_ Amata thought. Amata was so disappointed that she had lost her present. Amata wrapped her arms around herself. The more Roman thought about what just happened, the angrier he became. He spent weeks digging around the lower levels of storage to find such an item. Amata's present was probably the first Quantum in the vault to have eyes laid upon it in the last 20 or so years.

"Let's go get it back," Roman said in a poisonous tone of voice. Amata looked to him with a disbelieving look.

"That's right, let's go get it back! Show them who's boss!" Roman shouted under his breath. Amata didn't take him seriously and continued walking down the hall. He grabbed her arm and looked at her seriously. She raised an eyebrow.

"I have an idea," Roman said, "follow me!" Amata sighed and started following Roman.

Roman quickly walked with Amata on the way to his own quarters. "You know how there are those panels on the walls that cover up various pipes and wires behind them?" Roman said to Amata. She nodded. She knew about them, of course, needing to be familiar with the Vault and its workings if she was truly to become Overseer. "Yeah, but what that does that have to do with anything?" Amata said confused.

"Don't you see? We can remove one the panels and you, being smaller and thinner than me, can slip behind the walls and get into the security room!" Roman said, smiling at his idea. Amata looked at him incredulously.

"Are you serious? And what of the security guards in the room or of anyone who happens by? What then?" Amata said, a little annoyed.

Roman discounted Amata. "Why do you think we're heading to my quarters? I can draw out the guards with some of my leftover cherry bombs from that prank on Butch. Anyone who hears it will obviously avoid it. There's almost no chance you'll run into anyone."

The two arrived at Roman's quarters. Roman went into his room and reached under his bed to pull out a rusty foot locker. Amata watched from the doorway as he unlocked his locker. He searched through it and eventually pulled out six multi-colored cherry bombs, fuses primed and ready to go. Roman smiled the most devilish smile. He looked down to his Pip-Boy, it whirled to life. "Amata, what time do the guards change shifts?" Roman asked.

Amata thought back to when she was forced to the security protocols. "Hmm, next shift change is at 6 P.M.," Amata said. "We have a few hours to wait then," Roman said, getting up.

The two sat in Roman's room socializing and going over their plan. They hung out in Roman's quarters for about two and a half hours killing time by talking to one another, something they could for hours. No one mentioned the kiss or what happened down on the reactor level. No one mentioned that it was their first kiss or even that they were interrupted by Hannah Holden. They didn't mention how someone as intelligent as Hannah could get a job down in maintenance, just an ironic thing it was. The two were obviously trying to forget, but in reality none of them could believe what happened earlier. Amata had trouble paying attention to Roman when he went over the plan for the last time.

First, the pair would walk over to the security room and wait nearby. Upon the shift change, the pair had about four to five minutes to remove the wall panel so Amata could slip in behind without being seen. Luckily, the panels were only held in with clips and could be easily removed for quick access, both from the inside and out. Roman would then close up the panel and wait for the guards to show up. He would then set off a cherry bomb or two in a few secluded areas nearby to draw the guards away from the room. He would set one off and move to another area, setting off another cherry bomb to even further confuse any guards. This would hopefully allocate Amata enough time to get into the security room, take the Quantum from the confiscated items, and even delete the security entry about the event that her father insisted be written for any event, no matter how little or pointless. This would wipe any evidence about Amata's present being taken and the pair hoped without any evidence to support the Quantum ever being taken, the guards would just forget. They did handle lots of cases and situations daily after all. Amata couldn't just walk in the front door, as one needed a special security card to be able to access the door, something which only high ranking members of the Vault carried. Upon getting the items, Amata would back track her steps, climb through the wall panels, sealing them up when done. She brought a small rucksack to hold various items and the Quantum from sight. After that, she would climb her way back through the maintenance shaft and make her way to Roman's quarters where they would meet.

The pair departed from Roman's apartment. They tried to look as inconspicuous as possible on their way to their destination, making mindless small talk. They were almost there when they saw many different guards coming to and fro; the shifts were changing. They made their way to a nearby maintenance panel on the other side of the security room, near the door to the lower level of the Vault. Roman looked around the corner; he saw nothing.

"We're clear!" he said. Amata nodded at him, biting her lip. "Good luck," Amata said to Roman, he nodded back to her. "Operation _Quantum Leap_ is now underway," Amata whispered to herself.

Amata used a flat-head screwdriver to pry off the panel from the wall. It was about two thirds her size and weighed a considerable amount. She stepped into the small space between the walls, multiple different types of pipes making it a tight fit. She reached out and grasped the panel. She pulled it back onto the wall from the inside and it snapped back into place. Amata was now officially in the dark and under the walls of the Vault. Amata's temperature skyrocketed even just a few seconds of being there, her jumpsuit was starting to stick to her skin and it felt as if her make-up was running. Her turned on her Pip-Boy light and started shimmying her way down the claustrophobic space. Even though she only had to travel about 40 or so feet, it took her a good ten minutes to navigate through the maintenance shaft, constantly having to shift her body or get around a pipe. She was about to grab another pipe when she heard a muffled, high-pitched _pop!_

Almost immediately, Amata heard hurried claps of footsteps running through the halls just on the other side the cold steel she was behind. She heard another pop, this time it was closer. The explosion this time was powerful enough for Amata to feel the vibration. Dust and other bits of grime fell off of the pipes all around Amata, she had to shield her eyes from any debris. Amata was about eight or nine feet away from the maintenance panel she would use to get into the security room. She noticed a gap between her and the maintenance panel, it looked to be about ten feet deep and 5 feet across. She would have to climb onto the pipes in order to get across. She tested her weight on pipe and grabbed onto another, shimmying her way across the gap.

She hand to stand on one foot or order to reach another thick pipe. She reached out for it and upon touching it, she felt the immense heat and burned herself, having her reflexes pull her hand away in a lightning fast motion. Amata screamed. It was this moment that Amata knew, she fucked up. She lost her balance and scrambled to get ahold of any pipe she could but no avail. She fell a bit, hitting her shin incredibly hard on the ledge but thankfully managed to catch herself before she fell into the trench below. She monkeyed her way back onto the ledge, gasping for air from the sudden rush of adrenaline.

She limped her way over to the maintenance panel and kicked it as hard as she could with her good leg. No doubt the other one was bleeding from a bad scrape or nick. The panel eventually fell after a few more hard kicks and Amata finally now had access to the security room. She heard another boom, this time it sounded very far away. _'You're so crazy Roman, I love you,'_ she thought to herself. She quickly sprinted over to the confiscated items crate, as to be as quick as possible. For some horrendously idiotic reason, the crate was unlocked. Amata opened it and had no trouble finding the glowing beverage. She closed the crate quickly and put the Nuka-Cola into her pack. As she made her way over to the computer, she noticed how incredibly filthy she was. She would definitely need to clean her sneakers.

Thankfully the computer was already on. Amata navigated through the menus and eventually found the section, _Confiscated Items._ She found the report on the Quantum on the top of the list. She quickly skimmed through it, being shocked at the utter rudeness of it and the lack of any sort of grammar either. It had been written by Mack himself. Amata heard another loud humble, this one slightly closer. Just like how the crate was unlocked, the report had administrative rights already given so Amata could delete the report without needing a password, probably due to Officer Mack lacking any sort of a brain to take precautions. Amata giggled at the thought and quickly shut off the computer. Realizing she could open the door from the inside without a security card, she made sure the panel was back on the wall. Once she was done, it looked like as if no one had ever broke into the place.

She quickly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway; it looked as if the Vault was a ghost town, or ghost vault Amata smiled. The door automatically closed and re-locked itself when she stepped into the hallway. Roman's quarters were a long way away, even if she took the shortest route. She would probably be questioned by the guards, especially since she was covered in dust, grime, oil, and other foreign fluids. She smelled as if she just got stuffed into a car engine. She jogged quickly through the hallways, taking a route that the guards probably wouldn't be patrolling. Amata dusted herself off a bit and she heard another boom, the fifth one since they started. Amata knew Roman only had one cherry bomb left and was only setting them off still because he didn't know long Amata would take. It sounded far away but Amata still wanted to waste no time; she broke out into a full on sprint. Thankfully today she decided to wear her sneakers and not the usual Vault-Tec issued boots, she could run much faster in her Chuck's.

She ran through the halls at breakneck speed, not stopping for anything. She ran a good half mile just on her way to Roman's quarters, running off adrenaline. Even though her lungs were gasping for air and her legs were burning, Amata never felt more alive. Thankfully she didn't encounter any guards during her run, only Butch looking at her like she's stupid when she passed him. As she ran into the quarters, she heard another faint high pitched pop, the last cherry bomb that Roman had. Amata closed the door and pulled down the metal shutters on the windows to the apartment. She checked her rucksack for the Quantum, it was still there, safe and sound. She stuffed it under Roman's bed, hoping to hide it if anyone happened by.

She sat on Roman's bed while waiting for him, tapping her foot in impatience and the fact that she still had some adrenaline in her veins. It was about 10 minutes before the door to Roman's quarters opened; it was Roman. He quickly shut the door and ran over to Amata. She stood up fast.

"That was fucking insane!" Roman exclaimed with excitement. Amata ran over to him. "Did you get it?" Roman asked.

She nodded with the biggest smile on her face. Roman showed an expression of relief. He grabbed Amata's arms and forcefully pulled her into a hug. Roman practically crushed her with his arms but Amata didn't mind.

He released the pressure from his arms a bit and held his hand at the back of her neck. "Are you okay?" Roman asked. She laid her head down on his shoulder.

"I'm okay. Are you okay?" She asked without moving from his arms. He responded with a yes and kissed her forehead, making Amata blush. He released her from his arms and they stared at eachother. They looked into eachother's eyes and they both kissed quickly, smiling at eachother as they pulled away. All the day's troubles melted away in that moment as they stood together embraced.

* * *

 **A/N: This is the first story I've ever attempted to write. This is easily the longest piece of writing I've ever written. I hope it is good and to your liking. Hopefully future chapters will be around this length also, and I will try my best to get new chapters out within a week's time if I can. I apologize if it seems like I have no idea what I'm doing or if the story is made up as I go; it pretty much is. I have a basic idea of what I'm going to do. Expect lots of awkwardness, drama, angst, use of drugs, violence, suggestive themes, etc.**

 **This story is basically going to be _Vault 101: The Highschool Years_**

 **And no, there will be ZERO smut/lemons.**

 **If you could drop me a review, that'd be great!**


	2. A Dramatic Turn of Events

**A/N:** **Merry Christmas! If you are easily triggered by traumatic events, be wary of the chapter ahead. Thank you.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter Two, A Dramatic Turn of Events**_

Frustration. Panic. Frustration and Panic were the feelings that were overcoming Hannah Holden. Taking the G.O.A.T. last year did nothing but destroy her dream of being a Vault 101 Security Guard. Even though women weren't permitted to join the security staff, it was Hannah's perfect future to become Vault 101's first female security guard. But alas, when Hannah got her results back, it was apparent that the Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test had assigned her down in the reactor level working with Stanley.

Hannah hated her job, though according to Stanley and the rest of the maintenance crew, she was very good at it. Hannah Holden was incredibly intelligent and had a knack for learning things quickly, something that was invaluable to working in the Reactor. However, Hannah was quick to anger and working in maintenance tried her patience to the extreme everyday. When things got intense down in the reactor level, everyone was weary of Hannah's temper.

Right now, Hannah was going bonkers; there was a small water leak in the pipes that ran through the reactor to cool it. Not a big deal in itself, but a cracked pipe could potentially cause a drop in the water pressure heading to the reactor, reducing the cooling and increasing the strain on the fragile 200 year old reactor. Hannah raced around the lower level, trying desperately to find any parts to repair the leak. Everyone else was alert but still calm about the problem.

"Chill out, Hannah, it'll be fine!" called one member of the maintenance crew. It did nothing to stop the hysterical Hannah Holden. She ran down the halls of the lower level, desperately searching for any toolbox she could find.

Stanley eventually gifted Hannah one of his spare toolboxes and she made her way to the said broken pipe in question. Hannah quickly made her way over to the problem area. The pipe was spewing out scalding hot water. One would think water this hot wouldn't do anything to cool the reactor but in reality, the water gushing out of the cracks was many hundred degrees cooler than the actual reactor itself. Upon opening Stanley's toolbox, Hannah saw a small metal welder inside. She grasped the welding gun and Stanley soon met her next to the pipe. "You realize what you have to do, right?" He asked Hannah very seriously. The both of them were sweating profusely.

Hannah nodded. She knew she would have to weld a new piece of metal over the crack in the pipe. Stanley knew this would be a good learning experience and he supervised her closely. Hannah pulled out a small insulating layer of foam and with the help of Stanley, glued it over the leak, temporarily blocking the flow of water. "That won't hold for long," Stanley said as he handed Hannah a torch mask. She nodded to him.

Hannah took the piece of metal out of the toolbox, just enough to cover up the crack in the piping. Hannah quickly lit up the welding gun and knocked her head back quickly so her torch mask swung down onto her face without her having to touch it. Stanley grinned at her little trick. He quickly gave Hannah a rundown on how to weld the two metals together. She put the metal slab over the insulating foam and quickly did a few spot and tack welds here are there to secure it. Provided by Stanley, she then caulked down the seams. After it being inspected by Stanley, Hannah finished her welds and tidied her work up. The leak was completely fixed and was most likely stronger than before! Stanley was most impressed by Hannah's work. "Great job, Hannah!"

Hannah probably smiled for the first time down in the reactor level. "Of course, but I couldn't have done it without your help," Hannah said humbly with a touch of smugness.

Stanley scoffed and shook his head, "If there's anything needing to be fixed, you're the one who can do it. You did a fantastic job." And with that, Stanley planted his hand on Hannah's shoulder with a smile and then walked off.

Hannah turned back to the toolbox and rearranged everything exactly how she found it, frequently wiping the sweat off her face. Hannah checked her Pip-Boy. Exactly like how her own body felt, her Pip-Boy was advising her to get some water soon. It told her she only had 5 minutes before her shift for the day was finally over. Hannah breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her day's work would be finally over and she would be able to finally see her friends.

She made her way over to the Maintenance Crew locker room. Upon entering the place, Hannah immediately took her time card, inserted it into the machine that calculated work hours and pulled it out; another day down in the reactor level recorded. It was 5:01 P.M. and Hannah already just wanted a cold shower and some sleep. She threw down her maintenance tool harness onto the bench in the middle of the room. Hannah removed her work boots and slid out of her issued Vault 101 Utility Jumpsuit. She was thankful no one else was around or else she'd be a lot more modest but at this point, she couldn't care less. Hannah grabbed a towel from her locker and exchanged her underclothes with the towel. She tip-toed across the floor to avoid being on the dirty tile flooring for too long. Hannah's shower was freezing cold, just the way she liked it. After spending eight or so hours working in the boiling heat, a cold shower was the best Hannah could ever hope for. She honestly preferred using the Maintenance Crew's showers instead of the public ones, as there were a lot less people who used them.

Hannah walked out of the locker room, running her fingers through her damp raven colored hair. She enjoyed the feeling of being in a clean regular jumpsuit.

Hannah thought back to earlier in the day when she caught Amata and Roman down in the Reactor Level. Hannah didn't know either of their names though she had seen Amata's face before; Hannah knew she was the Overseer's daughter. Everyone did. She knew that the Overseer was an overbearing bully so she decided not to turn in Amata to the Overseer's wrath. Plus, they were just teenagers. Everyone makes out in the Reactor Level at least once, right? It was then Hannah remembered seeing the boy Amata was with when she walked out of Mr. Brotch's classroom even earlier today. " _Must be her boyfriend,"_ Hannah thought, " _pretty cute."_ Hannah Holden's mind drifted to other things while she walked her way back to her friend's quarters.

The walk was a long one but by this point in her life, the monotony of walking to and fro the reactor level to the living quarters was so boring, Hannah did it on autopilot. Hannah was lucky to get off so early from her job. If it wasn't a school day, it wasn't uncommon for Hannah to be down in maintenance from 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. Hannah was going to see one of her friends named Adrian Batchelder. Hannah and Adrian have been friends for a few weeks now and even though Adrian was considered an asshole and a troublemaker, deep down many people would say he's a good person. However, things are about to change. While on her way over to Adrian's, Hannah could hear faint booms that sounded far away underground. She thought nothing of it and it didn't even occur to her why the security personnel were running through the halls.

Hannah let herself into the Batchelder residence, and relieved to know Adrian's parents weren't home and made her way to his room. Hannah could hear the old 1950's garage punk coming from Adrian's room that he always blasted. Upon opening the sliding door to his room, Adrian didn't look up from his motor magazine. "Hey, you slut."

Hannah smirked and kicked the magazine right out of Adrian's hands. "What did you just say to me you bitch?" Hannah laughed and sat down on the bed next to Adrian. Hannah laughed even harder when Adrian gave her a fake look of heartbreak.

Adrian sat up next to Hannah and smiled. "What's up, dog?" said Adrian in his typical _too cool for you_ attitude.

Hannah raised her eyebrows up and down rapidly and smirked, "Oh, you know. Just the usual bullshit down in the reactor level, repaired a crazy huge leak in a pipe, didn't get anything in return. What about you?"

Adrian let out a single chuckle. "Same old," he said, "though I did get a raise in pay at the diner. Up to five credits an hour now." Adrian let out a smug smile.

"Buy me dinner sometime?" Hannah smirked again and elbowed Adrian in the side, "you still owe me for saving your ass when you were sleeping on the job, you know."

Adrian scoffed at Hannah. "If anything, you owe a meal with your crazy pay for working with Stanley," Adrian said whilst taking a sip of his Nuka-Cola.

"Well yeah, when you're risking your life everyday in the face of temperatures as hot as Satan's asshole, you're gonna get paid decently," Hannah replied annoyed. Adrian held up his hands in a ' _I surrender'_ kind of way with a smile. "Hey, maybe I like sticking my dick in the deep fryer," Adrian said with a laugh.

After Hannah kicked him for saying that, Adrian laughed harder. It was only when Hannah pushed him off the bed he stopped laughing. He pouted ironically and then smiled. "Hey, don't worry, I got some stuff to take the edge off."

Hannah quickly raised an eyebrow and Adrian smiled a devilish smile. Hannah leaned in, "Who'd you get em from?" Hannah said, now smiling a troublesome smile too.

"Some kid named Butch today dropped his food in the diner. Felt bad so I gave him a free meal and then he offered me some. Beats the hell out of sneaking into Doc' Howarth's clinic and stealing his chems."

Hannah let out a _psh_ and rolled her eyes, "I guess so," Hannah said. She suddenly got dead serious, "Show me them."

Adrian smiled and reached under his bed and pulled out a small rucksack. It had the Vault's diner logo on it and appeared to be _quite_ full. He loosened the rope around the opening and turned the rucksack upside down, its contents spilled out all over the floor. Hannah's eyes widened when she saw the numerous vials of Med-X, seven Jet Inhalers, a carton of Mentats, and two doses of Psycho. "Holy shit," she said in disbelief.

Adrian's small face scrunched up due to his huge psychotic smile. "I know, right? Here take some jet, you deserve it man," Adrian said as he placed an inhaler into Hannah's hand. "It's been so long since I last got high," Hannah said.

Adrian smirked and nodded. Hannah immediately gripped the red handle, put the inhaler to her smooth lips, pressed the button up top, and inhaled deeply. Almost instantaneously, Hannah felt the euphoric effects take over her body. She dropped the empty inhaler without caring and fell back into Adrian's bed and wasn't listening to his chuckling. Hannah's eyes darted every which way and unbeknownst to her, her own pupils widened to also the entire size of her iris. She looked up to ceiling to see it constantly change colors and warp and fall over itself like smoke. She stared for about an hour straight for what felt like ten seconds. She blinked a few times and the ceiling seemed to go mostly back to normal and with a harsh shiver, Hannah quickly sat up in bed. She began breathing super hard and felt weightless, as if she just stepped onto the moon. Upon looking over to Adrian, she noticed him lighting up a cigarette.

Feeling the effects of Jet finally starting to affect her greatly, Hannah felt an intense rush of energy and she looked around the room acting like a dog noticing food. She rushed to Adrian's door and punched the console to open it repeatedly as she knew what was on the opposite side. What actually took two seconds in reality felt like an eternity to Hannah as the door opened. Instead of going around the furniture of apartment normally, Hannah easily cleared the couch as she jumped over it. When she tried to hop the coffee table, the toe end of her sneaker caught the table and she went tumbling. Being high as a kite, she didn't care when she loudly crashed to the floor and flipped the coffee table; the hypergenic effects of Jet inhalation were already cemented into her system. Unaware of flipping the table and the contents previously on top, Hannah was still sprinting to one location; the _kitchen_.

Hannah was starting to finally come down from the high if ever so slightly. Hannah was so jumpy and hyper that it took her multiple tries to get her fingers around the handle of refrigerator. She threw the door open so hard that he fridge itself scooted a few inches. Adrian walked into the room and stared at her and started laughing hysterically.

Hannah whipped her head around to see him laughing. "Wha-?" She said frantically. Adrian kept laughing. "Damn Hannah, you're high as fuck."

"Shut the fuck up! Why doesn't your fridge have any food?" demanded Hannah. Adrian gave her a look of confusion and then widened his eyes as Hannah started throwing open his kitchen cabinets. "Hannah no, stop!" screamed Adrian not seriously. He laughed and rushed over to Hannah and pulled her arm to get her down from the countertop. When that didn't work, Adrian wrapped his arms around Hannah's waist and fell backwards, pulling her down with him to the ground. Hannah quickly got out his grasp with her newfound strength but Adrian quickly tripped her as he laughed. He quickly got on top of her and pinned her arms above her head. Hannah tried to get him off of her but Adrian's tall frame kept her under him. It was then Adrian leant down and kissed Hannah on the lips forcefully. Hannah was so high out of her mind it didn't even register, she just wanted to get some food and run around.

"Let's go get some food at the diner, shall we?" Adrian said with a devilish smile. He got off of Hannah and grabbed her hand to pick her up from the ground. Hannah was confused at first but the thought was quickly replaced by the relief of being out and about. She followed Adrian out of the apartment. "Let's try to act as non-suspicious as possible, Hannah," he whispered, smiling at his sneaky trick earlier. Hannah was oblivious and just rolled with it.

The pair discretely made their way down to the Diner, which wasn't too far away. Hannah kept zoning out and would collide with Adrian multiple times. Upon passing a few people in the halls, the other dwellers would look at Adrian and Hannah with a weird look, mostly ending with Adrian giving them a smile. Adrian told Hannah to stay outside the Diner and he made his way inside. Using his employment status to his advantage, he managed to get a decent amount of free food. He ushered in Hannah and they found themselves sat in a booth in the corner. Hannah immediately began stuffing her face, pushing aside her usually good manners. Adrian just chuckled and ate his food at a leisurely pace.

As quick as they were there, they were off again, back to Adrian's room. The effects of the jet were continuing to affect Hannah. She felt incredibly clouded and didn't have any sense of what was going on. Suddenly, she found it hard to keep her eyes open and she was having trouble walking in a straight line down the hallway. Unbeknownst to Hannah, she was about to crash and crash _hard._ Without knowing it, Adrian took her hand. Upon returning to the quarters, Adrian took Hannah into his room and she fell onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Returning back to Amata and Roman, the pair were still in Roman's room, cuddling up to one another, enjoying their new found connection. Not much was being said between the two but nothing needed to be said, they were just enjoying each other's company. Though they weren't do anything with one another (yet), they both had a tremendous amount of butterflies in their stomachs and were almost shaking from their feelings. They both felt complete. Roman felt at peace as Amata's head was on his shoulder with her arm wrapped around his side. She was very soft and smelled of vanilla, and it was incredible to see Amata's eyes so up close, their deep hazel being more green than brown that was downright intoxicating to Roman. It was something similar for Amata, with Roman's arms wrapped around her curvy frame. Roman's face was so adorable to Amata and she genuinely thought Roman as a looker, despite the differing opinions of Christine Kendall and Susie Mack. Amata glanced from Roman over to the Quantum sitting on Roman's end table across from them.

Amata bit her lip and shook her way out of Roman's grasp, reaching over him to grab the Nuka-Cola Quantum. With the Quantum in hand, she returned to Roman's embrace and they both gazed at the crazy drink. "Can it even be considered a drink?" Roman questioned to no one in particular. There was a slight tingle in Amata's hand from holding the radioactive beverage and she seriously considered keeping the drink as a momento. Reckoning that would be illogical, she knew she would have to drink it but at least she would drink it with her love, Roman. The glow and translusentness from the drink was a sight to behold and neither of the two could take their eyes off of it. "You ready?" Amata asked Roman, glancing back at him. Roman just gave her a smile of affirmation.

Amata used the bottle cap remover on the bottom of her Pip-Boy to remove the golden bottle cap affixed onto the top of Quantum. Amata gave the bottle one last look, reading the text on the bottle that said, " _Take the leap… enjoy a Quantum!"_

Amata tentatively knocked back the drink and Roman could slightly see the glowing light as it went down Amata's throat. At first, all Amata could taste was the usual Nuka-Cola flavored, just amplified to almost be at sour-like levels and then milliseconds later, the 18th flavor of pomegranate kicked in. It was an odd flavor, definitely one that someone would have to be acquired to, like coffee or a nice lager. Her tongue felt ultra tingley and Amata shivered from the effects. She could feel her own heart rate rising from the drink and felt as if some adrenaline was kicking in. When Roman took a swig, he felt similar effects as did Amata. Though an odd experience, Roman could honestly say it was a pleasant one, obviously, as the drink was approved for the pre-war market.

The two best friends continued to slowly drink the Quantum and talk amongst themselves. They joked about the fact of the Quantum supposedly having twice the calories, twice the carbohydrates, twice the caffeine and twice the taste. After finishing it, they again sat in silence, this time laid out across Roman's bed, just looking into each other's eyes. Neither one of them could begin to fathom how fortunate they were for one another. If both of them were shot right there, they would've died happy.

* * *

There was a fog that glazed over Hannah Holden's mind. First things first, Hannah's head was pounding so hard it was ready to split open and shower the room with gray matter. The first thoughts that came to mind were that she didn't want to be awake right now and secondly, regret. She immediately knew that she was hungover, crashing super hard from her Jet intake. Even though later she would be telling herself she'd never get high again, she would once again do just that. She could feel herself laying on her back and with a blanket around her. She didn't bother opening her eyes, knowing very well the light would only worsen her migraine. She raised her hands to her face and turned over in the bed simultaneously. It was then Hannah felt something very off.

"Hey, you're finally awake," Hannah could hear Adrian say. She ignored him, feeling instantly super uncomfortable and frightened. Hannah may have been hungover but all her reasoning and sentience was there. When she turned over just then, she could feel her bare skin against Adrian's sheets and something about her physically just felt _off_. Her jumpsuit was nowhere to be found and Hannah found herself wearing nothing but a bra. She didn't remember taking off her clothes. She quickly sat up in bed and opened her eyes, easily ignoring the pain that her body protested because she was so nervous. She quickly wrapped the blanket around herself. She saw Adrian sitting across the room in his underclothes, smoking another cigarette. Hannah's eyes widened and a shiver shot up her spine.

"You okay?" Adrian deadpanned, sounding more like a statement than a question. He closes his eyes as he exhaled some of the smoke. Hannah gulped and said, "What happened?"

Adrian let out a chuckle, one which normally would sound fine but right now, it was unnerving to Hannah. He took another hit of his cigarette before saying, "You took a few shots of jet, then we went and got some chow after you nearly destroyed my kitchen." He laughed.

"After that, I mean," Hannah said timidly, never feeling this vulnerable before. She scooted back in the bed, getting up nearly against the wall. Adrian finished his cigarette and got up to get another pack. He didn't answer for awhile. "Adrian?" Hannah said smalley. Adrian sighed. "We fucked. What does it look like?" Adrian finally answered.

Hannah's fears were confirmed and the tone in Adrian's voice wasn't anything she had ever heard before. It sounded totally nonchalant and deadpanned, and Hannah couldn't hear any regret in the tone. When Hannah didn't answer immediately, Adrian pointed to the other wall across the room. "There are your clothes, on the dresser," he said. Hannah didn't say anything but got up with the blanket wrapped around her body to get her clothes. As she walked over, tears started welling up in her eyes and she tried her hardest not to burst into tears. She tried her best to cover herself with the blanket as she changed into her clothes, eventually zipping up her jumpsuit. From start to finish, Hannah could feel Adrian gazing at her backside.

Hannah sat herself back down onto Adrian's bed, looking away from him, about to break down. "You okay?" Adrian said again, this time sounding more concerned. He leaned forward in his chair. Hannah turned her head into his direction but didn't look at him. "Did I even say yes?" Hannah said in a low and quiet, accusing tone.

Adrian chuckled again. He got up and walked over to Hannah and sat down right next to her. Hannah instinctively scooted away from him. After awhile, he answered, "No, you were way out there but let's be honest here, you woulda' said yes if you were sober."

"No, I wouldn't! Not in a million years! What the hell?" Hannah shouted at him, standing up and facing toward him. "Hannah.." he said. That sent Hannah over the edge.

"Don't 'Hannah' me, you prick! You fucking _raped_ me, you piece of shit. You took my virginity!" screamed Hannah. She quickly went off and made her way towards the door. Immediately after getting up, Hannah let the tears flow. Adrian had something else in mind, he grabbed her arm forcefully as he got up and dragged her back into his room. He walked and backed her up into a corner. "What the hell are you doing?!" she screamed, bursting into tears even more.

"Shut the fuck up, slut. You better not go running your mouth now, you got that straight?" Adrian said in an almost demonic voice. Hannah's now her back up against the wall and Adrian rested himself against the wall, effectively trapping her. "I thought you were my friend, Adrian," Hannah said slowly. Adrian smiled a devilish smile, baring this crooked and yellowing teeth to Hannah. "Hasn't it been obvious I've wanted you, _sweetie pie?_ "

Hannah snapped, _fucking snapped_ , she wasn't about to be in pain anymore. She lifted her knee and hit Adrian right in the stomach. He hunched over in pain and Hannah ran from his shackles to the door. Upon reaching the door, it would've been a lot easier to escape if Adrian didn't lock it. "Fuckin' bitch.." he said in pain.

Hannah was too slow to get the door open before Adrian grabbed her waist. Reacting from instinct, Hannah grabbed one of the empty Nuka-Cola bottles from the room's end table. Adrian only got out a confused 'wha' before Hannah smashed the glass bottle against his face.

Adrian immediately howled in pain with shards of glass being ingrained into his cheeks, forehead, mouth and lips, nose, and eyes. The amount of blood just from the blow was profuse. He fell backwards onto his back and Hannah sat on his stomach. Hannah took the rest of the cracked and shattered bottle and shoved it into his face, instantaneously causing Adrian to go permanently blind. Blood began pooling around Adrian's head as he screamed in mumbled and gurgly pain. That easily would've been enough, but not for Hannah. In her explosive reaction, the only thing she wanted was to make sure Adrian never hurt her or anyone again. After years of being walked all over and being pushed around, Hannah had had enough of everyone's shit.

She ripped one of the larger shards from Adrian's face, not caring about the sharp edges against her hand. If Adrian kept screaming any longer, someone would surely hear the violence and discover what would happen. Hannah slowly dragged the shard of glass down the side of Adrian's face as he mumbled for his mom. Ending at Adrian's throat, Hannah was blinded and laughed menacingly as she slowly pierced Adrian's neck with the glass. Blood quickly began oozing out and Hannah dragged the shard from one side of his throat to the other. From the shoulder up, all of Adrian was now red and he stopped moving and protesting all together. There was a pool of blood all around Adrian and she was covered in it. Ending in good measure, Hannah shoved the shard right into the center of Adrian's chest. Her headache was now completely gone.

Hannah got off of the body and stared at her handiwork. She smirked and wiped some of the blood from her hands onto her jumpsuit and face. If Hannah was high earlier then she was definitely up top of the world right now with a natural high. She blew Adrian's body a kiss and walked out of the room.

Hannah was thankful that her Vault Jumpsuit was mostly leather and vinyl, as it could be washed easily. She navigated through the Batchelder residence and found the washing and drying machines. She quickly and gleefully unzipped her jumpsuit and slid out of it, throwing it into the washing machine with a generous amount of soap on the fastest setting. She left to make her way to the kitchen. She flipped the sink on and let the water warm up as she searched the cabinets for some dish soap. She thoroughly scrubbed down her arms and neck with the soap and one of the more abrasive sponges laying around. She used the soap as a makeshift shampoo and rinsed the blood from her hair. Using dish soap as a makeshift shampoo wasn't uncommon down in the reactor level.

After throwing her jumpsuit into the dryer, Hannah decided to make some food while she waited on jumpsuit and hair to dry. She took her bowl of food and walked over to Adrian's body.

It was definitely a novel moment right then; Hannah staring over the body of her former friend whilst eating a bowl of BlamCo Mac & Cheese in only her bra and panties. It was then that life in the Vault would change for everyone.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey there, I'm sorry for such the huge delay and taking six months to write chapter two. Honestly, I just had lost a lot of inspiration and of course I caught up in school and work, and of course Fallout 4. Anyways, I hope this chapter was to your liking and as you see, things got serious, fast.**

 **If you give me a review, all your dreams will come true.**


	3. No Witnessess

**A/N: I didn't have much time to proofread this chapter so I apologize for any errors or confusion!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter Three, No Witnesses**_

"How 'bout some chow, milady?" was the last thing Roman said to Amata before she wiggled her eyebrows. The two left the Howarth's apartment and held their hands interlocked as they strolled down to the Diner. What seemed like a normal walk to one of their favorite hangouts was quite different due to their joyous newfound feelings. Amata couldn't help but feel butterflies in her belly and she had never seen Roman smile so much at once.

The two had spent the majority of their time in Roman's room after they had successfully retrieved Amata's present, just enjoying their time together. Both of the young fifteen year olds were on cloud nine and nothing was about to bring them down.

Except for maybe Hannah Holden. It was around 7:00 p.m. and the two teens felt like grabbing a bite to eat before letting go of eachother for the night.

When Amata rounded the corner to the diner first, she immediately noticed Hannah Holden sitting at the bar conversing with the server as she sipped a drink.

Amata first thoughts were _oh great_ and so she took point and led Roman to their preferred booth in the corner, farthest away from the doors and the bar. Roman glanced at the back of Hannah's head but thought nothing of it, as the love of his life was sitting right in front of him. The two sat facing each other as per usual but this time they sat with their legs interlocked underneath the table.

"You two, can I start you off with a pair of Nuka-Colas?" said the server with a smile as he made his way over to the booth Amata and Roman found themselves sitting in. Amata spoke up, showing off her hegemony, "That would be great, thanks." They both smiled.

Roman raised an eyebrow and Amata shot him a coy smile. Roman leaned in close to Amata. "Amata, I can't even believe noone is on to us about that Quantum!"

Amata began laughing silently and nodded. "I know," Amata said devilishly. The love birds laughed, causing Hannah to notice and raise an eyebrow to noone in particular.

The server returned with the Colas, setting them down on the table and pulling out a pen & sticky note. Hannah could hear them ordering their food. "I'll take two double cheeseburgers please."

The server wrote it down. "Alright, two doubles for you Mister Howarth. And what can I get you Miss Almodovar?"

Hannah mentally wrote down their names, now confirming that Amata was in fact the Overseer's daughter, though she still didn't know her first name. Upon hearing the last name Howarth, Hannah immediately knew that it was James' son, Roman, that she thought was cute. She assumed he was Amata's boyfriend.

"..Alright, a small serving of spaghetti. I'll get those out to you guys shortly," spoke the server once again. Amata and Roman went back to talking amongst themselves.

"I can't believe my father hasn't locked down the whole Vault yet," Hannah could hardly make out what Amata said.

Hannah quickly glanced over her shoulder to get a look at the couple. She gracefully scooted herself off of the stool and purposely swung her slim figure as she made her way over to the kids' table. Roman noticed almost instantaneously.

"Is this seat taken?" Hannah asked the both of them. Amata and Roman looked at eachother, Amata shooting Roman a _oh god why_ look. Roman shrugged and said it's whatever.

"The name's Hannah Holden," she said as she sat down next to Roman. He scooted away from her, for both him and to please Amata.

"My name is Amata. Amata Almodovar."

"I'm Roman."

"Sweet," Hannah said, looking at her fingernails, "you're the Overseer's daughter and the Doc's kid, right?"

Hannah looked to Roman and Amata. They both looked away. "Yeah, that's right," Roman said quietly.

"Hey man, I don't bite. Let's not be awkward. How old are you two?" Hannah said, chuckling at the younger kids.

"We're both fifteen. It's actually Amata's birthday," Roman spoke up. Amata sat there deadpanned.

"Damn," Hannah said, showing off a _not bad_ face. She immediately felt like a pedophile for thinking Roman was a looker. "You guys are way young. I betcha' just can't wait for the G.O.A.T. next year."

Amata scoffed and Roman chuckled. "Oh, hell no," he said, "if I don't get to work with my father in the Clinic, I'll scream." Amata laughed contently at that.

Hannah gave a fake chuckle. "I'm seventeen, almost eightteen. Did that shit long ago," she said, mostly to herself. She felt old.

When neither Roman nor Amata said anything, Hannah posed a question to them. "So, tell me somethin', why were you two down in the Reactor level?"

Amata immediately spoke up first, "Oh, Roman led me down there. That's where he stashed my birthday present." Amata spoke slowly and politely.

"That glowing drink?" Hannah laughed and shook her head, "Still, I don't wanna know. If that's really the case, then why'd I catch you guys sucking face? Never know what the Overseer might do."

Roman nearly spat out his Nuka-Cola and Amata's face lit up like ripe tomato. She looked away. "That was just a way of Amata saying thanks," Roman said, nervously but smiled at Amata. She facepalmed.

Hannah leaned back in the booth and nodded her approval. "You guys are a cute couple, definitely, but lay off the public encounters, will ya?" Hannah wasn't wrong.

Amata's got a whiff of something that smelled great. The three kids turned their heads to see the Server walking over with two trays full of food, one in each hand.

"Well, I'll leave you guys alone. Enjoy your meal," Hannah said as she elegantly removed herself from the booth. "Bye," Roman said. Amata said nothing. "Weird as fuck.." Roman said under his breath.

Hannah walked out the Diner just as the Server set down Amata and Roman's food. She smiled a huge smile to nobody but herself, feeling giddy. A plan was forming in her head.

The two young teenagers immediately dug into their food. Roman was enjoying the intoxicating bouquet of the cheese slowly melting out of his burger and Amata was twirling spaghetti noodles around with her fork. Amata liked to see Roman eat and thought he was cute for being so passionate about the flavors flowing through his mouth. Amata's spaghetti was also quite tasty. She smiled at Roman, she knew she was so incredibly and madly in love with him. Many people would say that a newly fifteen year old probably didn't know what love was, but Amata didn't care. She knew she loved him, she'd known for awhile now but never really thought about it until just recently.

He noticed and raised an eyebrow. Amata chuckled, "Sorry, you're just cute."

"If anything, you're the reason why the room is stuffy," Roman said with a wink.

Amata playfully rolled her eyes. "You're sweet, sweeter than Nuka-Cola," Amata said to Roman, smiling.

Before Roman could reply with something smarky, the Vault's PA system kicked on with a loud _ping_. Amata and Roman immediately stopped eating and looked at eachother.

"Attention, all Vault Residents. This is your Overseer speaking. Every dweller must now immediately return to their quarters until further notice. All security staff not currently on duty please report to Level Two, Apartment Seven. Also, have half of the medical team report there as well. That is all."

Overseer Almodovar hung up the phone so to speak. An immediate dark tone came over both Amata and Roman. The blood drained from Amata's face and a shiver shot up Roman's spine.

The Server spoke from behind the prep table as he put some of the utensils away. "You two can take your food with you, just bring back the plates sometime."

Roman already finished one of his burgers when he said, "No, it's okay. I'm good."

Amata nodded, "I lost my appetite anyway."

The Server gave them a confused look but said nothing. Amata and Roman quickly got up and walked to the door. He looked to her and noticed it looked like she was about to cry. Roman stopped Amata just outside the door in the hallway.

"Hey, hey, it'll be okay. I promise, babe," said Roman, putting his hands on Amata's shoulders.

Amata was holding back the tears, she really did not feel like crying in front of Roman or in the hallway. She hugged him. "We're screwed.."

"No, no, no, no, shhh, we're fine. Alphonse called the guards to the _other side_ of the Vault. We're going to be just fine. _You're_ gonna be just fine, Amata."

Amata nodded and sniffled a bit more. Roman smiled and tucked one of Amata's loose hair strands behind her ear. They both looked into eachother's eyes and stared into the deep auras of their irises. She giggled, "Gayyy." Amata gave him a quick but passionate kiss so no one would see. She didn't want to retire to her quarters and Roman felt the same, he didn't want to leave her side.

"I'll see you later," Roman said to Amata, hugging her, "let's hope they don't keep up waiting."

Amata nodded again and smiled at him, "I love you."

"I love you too," Roman said as he slowly started walking backwards, putting a hand on his chest sarcastically.

Amata rolled her eyes, cheered up. "I'll be eagerly waiting for you. Come back soon," Amata said with a wink and a laugh.

Roman gave her a peace sign of finality as they both turned around to walk to their respective quarters. Roman smiled so big. He made his way back to his quarters and Amata did the same.

Amata was overjoyed and almost giddish with the love flowing through her body, too the point where she almost forgot about her and Roman's little adventure to steal back her Quantum. Almost. She tried her best to suppress her fears of getting caught. Little did she know that the security guards got called for another girl, and not Amata.

Amata tried to think about other things, specifically her and Roman's friendship over the years. How she started thinking he was cute around ten years old or so, how she started notice him maturing at a fast rate, and finally, how she started to question if or not she had feelings for the young man. She denied it at first but Amata eventually became content with loving him. Only up until recently did she think about how she could possibly try to win him over.

Amata was taking the long way back to her quarters, enjoying her moments in la-la land. She was so zoned out she failed to realized she walked right past someone. When the individual called out for her, Amata immediately jumped and almost fell over in a flailing poof of confusion.

"Damn," said the person, laughing wholeheartedly, "you're really not so graceful, are you?"

Amata put a hand on her chest and was gratefully surprised at who she saw. "Oh, hey there, Hannah," she said, throwing out a breath. _She's everywhere,_ Amata thought.

Hannah attractively closed her eyes as she drew in a long hit of her cigarette that was between her middle and index fingers. She pulled the lit cancer-stick anyway and opened her eyes as she turned her face to Amata. Hannah let the smoke slowly drift out of her nostrils and gave Amata a grin. Hannah irradiated coolness.

"Any idea what they are calling security for?" Hannah said as she raised an eyebrow at Amata, trying to mess with her. Nonetheless, Hannah knew quite well the real reason why the Overseer got on the intercom.

Amata gulped, "I have no idea," she said, trying to convince herself sarcastically. "But," Amata retorted, "I am returning to my quarters and I think you should do the same, Miss Holden."

"'Miss Holden,' eh? Not sure how I feel about that," Hannah said with a chuckle, taking a final drag of her cigarette before chucking it to the floor and extinguishing it with her boot. "I'd rather not go back to my quarters. Family crap, you know?"

Amata nodded quickly, being more intimidated by Hannah than she would like to admit. Hannah turned her back to Amata and started walking down the hall in the opposite direction of her living quarters. Confused, Amata said, "Where are you off to?"

Hannah kept walking forward, "To your quarters, of course. Don't be a stranger." She had a plan.

Something struck Amata, if it were anyone else, including Roman, she would have immediately turned down the idea of anyone going to her quarters (regretfully, with Roman), especially at a time like this. There was just something about Hannah that was mysterious, attractive even, that put people into a trance-like state. Amata thought against such ideas but upon imagining the situation in her head, Amata let it slide.

She jogged to catch up to Hannah and once the two were walking side-by-side, Hannah lit up another cigarette and offered up another one, to which Amata declined and protested, mentally thinking Hannah better finish it quick. The walk of the two girls was entirely silent. Hannah returned to smoking more normally and less for looks. The entrance to the Overseer's wing came into view.

"Why do you smoke?" Amata said, looking to Hannah as she put out her final cigarette.

She smiled devilishly, "Relieves stress, calms me down. Why don't you?"

"Maybe I like my teeth white and my lungs cancer free," Amata said sarcastically, with a touch of seriousness. Hannah raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, no! I didn't mean it like that!" Amata apologized.

"Shut the fuck up," Hannah laughed, playfully pushing the other girl. Amata playfully pushed her back a little harder.

"Oh, so now we're doing this?" Hannah said, shoving Amata hard but still laughed.

"Watch it," Amata giggled, pushing Hannah again, "you're only a stick!"

"A stick that can fight," laughed Hannah, not returning a shove to Amata. Hannah thought back to Adrian with pride, letting herself smile. Amata took it as a genuine smile with no meaning behind it. They both laughed.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Amata said, twirling around and flopping onto her bed.

Hannah looked around the dwelling. For a vault living space, it was rather quaint. There were lots of decorations and colorful arts and crafts that dotted the walls, bringing a more positive atmosphere to the room. Hannah normally wouldn't care for such a girly room but she smiled anyway.

"I didn't take you for being such a girly-girl, Amata," Hannah said, sitting down next to her.

Amata chuckled, "Yeah well, I don't get a lot of time outside these quarters," she added, feeling kind of small.

Hannah chuckled too, "And when you do, you're with Roman," raising her eyebrows up and down at Amata.

Amata blushed immediately and pushed Hannah's shoulder. "Shut up, you," she said.

Hannah looked away and just smiled. She gazed across the room once more. She appreciated the cleanliness of the space. It was simple, yet functional, and glowed of positivity and dreams. Hannah turned her head to Amata, who was staring intently.

"Have anything to drink?" Hannah asked.

"Uh, yeah. What do you want?"

"Love some wine but water is fine," Hannah replied, throwing a smile.

Amata nodded and left the room to fetch some water bottles. She returned shortly with the drinks and immediately gave one to Hannah and opened up her own. The two girls sipped away. Hannah leaned back on the bed and propped herself up on elbows.

"So, tell me, Miss Amata Almodovar," Hannah said cooly while looking at the other girl, "who exactly are you?"

"My favorite color is purple," Amata replied jokingly. Hannah raised an eyebrow and Amata giggled. "What do you wanna know?"

"Just gimme an autobiography or something," Hannah deadpanned, "tell me your life story. Tell me about you and Roman."

"Err, well," stuttered Amata, "I've known him all my life, since we were babies. I've always had a thing for him really."

Hannah nodded, beckoning Amata to continue. "Uh, we actually only got together today and only because I freaked out and kissed him by accident."

Hannah's eyebrows shot up before she smiled at the younger woman. "That's so adorable."

"Yeah, well," Amata slightly blushed.

Amata was about to continue on describing her relationship before Hannah's hand slipped up her calf and made rest on Amata's shin. Amata blushed harder and scooted back, slightly stiffening up as Hannah's hand stayed in place. _This woman is very strange,_ Amata thought, _but I don't necessarily mind this._

Before Amata could retort, Hannah interrupted her. "What's it like with your dad being the Overseer?"

Amata casually scoffed before smiling, though somewhat nervously. "Don't even get me started, dude. It's awful honestly. He's my father and I love him but god he's such a hardass sometimes."

"Please, I know," Hannah laughed, knowing all too well how her friends frequently got busted by security. "He seems paranoid as fuck too, not gonna lie," she added.

"Probably," Amata replied, "I'm surprised he doesn't have bodyguards, honestly."

Hannah giggled at that. _Perfect_ , she thought. She bit her lip seductively before speaking, "Does he carry then?"

Amata seemed confused but quickly understood. "Like a gun? No idea. If he does, he hasn't told me."

"He must have a gun stashed away somewhere, right?" Hannah said, bluffing whilst screaming internally.

It worked. Amata didn't pick up and spoke without thinking. "I'm like seventy-six percent sure he has one under his desk. Why?"

Hannah cocked a half grin. "Just curious, dude." In her head, she couldn't be more thrilled at the information just revealed to her. "Say, can I spend the night?"

Amata nearly choked on the water she was drinking. Hannah noticed and immediately gave explanation, "I'd rather not get caught out right now, yunno? I'll just sneak back in the middle of the night."

Amata would have said that it wouldn't matter as security patrols at all hours but again, the strange and honest-to-god sexiness of the woman in front of her made it sure that Amata repeated nothing of the sort.

Hannah took Amata's silence as not a no. Amata just gave a short shrug of embarrassment. _Excellent,_ Hannah thought.

An awkward silence passed between the two girls though it felt like just moments before Amata broke the tension. "Why don't you tell me about yourself, Hannah?"

 _Oh, great,_ Hannah thought. She playfully rolled her eyes at the other girl. She thought of what to say, something that wouldn't give away too much information but still satisfy Amata's curiosity. "Hmm, well, I'm your generic emotional rebel of a teenager. Hate everything, destroy my body," Hannah made a motion of swigging an invisible drink, "get told I have lots of potential, but I'm too lazy to anything about it. Oh, and I can sing."

Amata seemed to only react at the suggestion that Hannah could sing. _Not a surprise,_ Hannah thought again, taking note in how Amata liked to see the positives in things. _How fucking cute._

Amata's eyebrows were still raised when she said excitedly, "Really? Sing for me!"

Hannah playfully rolled her eyes again. "Sobriety, I tried that shit. Suddenly I realized that everyone was an asshole," Hannah said in a sing-songy voice, showing off her natural talent. Amata immediately burst out laughing.

Hannah merely smiled as Amata leaned back with a red face, laughing hard and deep but still silent as she calmed down. She clapped her hands together like a seal. "It's not that funny!" Hannah eventually joined in on the laughter too, only extending the scene that Amata was making. After a few minutes and a few wipes of the eyes, the two had finally calmed down.

"Shit," Amata swore, coming back to reality. "You're funny."

Hannah only smiled. "I killed a man," she added. Amata laughed at the joke, not realizing the meaning.

The two girls returned to their chatter amongst one another. Amata didn't know exactly why Hannah was suddenly so interested in being her friend but she thought it might be something to do with Roman.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Amata asked.

Hannah gaze didn't meet Amata's. The girl would say Hannah looked very 'out there.'

"No, not really," Hannah started, "I was getting close to this one guy but," Hannah paused, thinking about her next words carefully, "it didn't work out in the end."

Amata put her hand on the other girl's shoulder with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Hannah," Amata said genuinely, "I can't imagine what you must be feeling."

Hannah shrugged her off, looking disowned. "It's alright. Shit happens," Hannah said. Amata nodded. "I'm not super interested in guys really," she lied.

Amata raised an eyebrow. She was relieved that the girl in front of her wasn't interested in Roman but that could mean something else for Amata. "Are you into me?"

Previously lying, it was an easy reply from Hannah. "I just met you."

Amata laughed an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, true." Another laugh. Hannah laughed too, trying to divulge the awkwardness. Amata's first thought was of disappointment but she quickly mentally chastised herself for thinking of someone other than Roman. _Why does she make me so flustered?_ Amata thought.

Not wanting the awkward situation to continue, Amata quickly got up from her bed and onto the floor, reaching under her bed and pulling out a small foot locker. Hannah looked on as Amata opened the lock. Inside, Hannah could only look a little surprised as she saw lots of color.

"Do you like comic books?" Amata said excitedly.

* * *

A slight and numb pain became quite apparent to Hannah Holden in her lower back. The young woman began to stir and slowly opened her eyes to the dark room. Hannah immediately looked to her Pip-Boy in the dark: 4:27 a.m.

The first part of Hannah's plan had gone off without a hitch. It was only a few feet and some titanium walls that separated Hannah from her target. The girl purposely slept against the wall in the corner of Amata's room as to not oversleep. It was vital for her to wake up in the middle of the night.

Hannah immediately looked to the other girl laying on her bed nearby. Amata was fast asleep, probably dreaming of Roman or something Hannah thought.

The drowsey girl stood up slowly, as to not disturb Amata. Hannah pushed her hands into her back as she stretched and yawned. Not wanting to waste any time, Hannah quickly plucked a couple of bobby pins from Amata's now bedhead.

Opening the sealed door, Hannah had to shield her eyes from the light of the living room. The lights in the office area and meeting room were off and Alphonse's door was tightly shut. _Perfect,_ Hannah thought.

She wasted no time and quietly made her way to the Overseer's office door. Being in maintenance, Hannah knew how to easily short out the door and have it open normally.

Hannah flicked on the lights, revealing a dreary and depressing space. The office was absolutely spotless and no decorations adorned the walls. In the middle of the sat Alphonse's desk with an ashtray and bottle of wine with a shot glass sat atop.

Hannah's hands brushed under the desk's fake wooden top. The thief of a girl felt nothing that would point to a firearm. Dejected, Hannah made her way over to the lockers against the far side of the office.

The left one was unlocked but only contained various files and papers; nothing Hannah needed. Hannah wasn't surprised that the right locker was still locked. She had a good feeling what she might find inside. Hannah dropped to one knee as she slid in a bobby pin.

Hannah couldn't say she knew what she was doing but she had an idea: use the bobby pins to put the various tumblers of the lock in their proper place. After a few seconds of fumbling and tumbling, Hannah heard a very audible _click!_

"Holy fuck," Hannah said, surprised and proud of her accomplishment.

What Hannah saw inside made her smile like a mad woman. On one shelf, Hannah saw two boxes of 10mm ammo, thirty rounds in each. On the locker's top shelf rested a gun in its leather holster. The wrapping around the pistol looked rather well put together, Hannah reckoned. Undoing the simple button, Hannah slid the firearm from the hostler.

 _.40cal (10 x 22mm) N99 Standard Issue_ was engraved on the side of the weapon Hannah noted with actual fondness of the gun. The weapon looked to be in immaculate condition, obviously being well taken care of. Hannah thought the gun might have never been fired.

Now, Miss Holden definitely didn't know her way around a gun but with what little knowledge she did know, she knew the bullets were stored in the pistol grip. After some fumbling with it, Hannah heard another audible _click!_ and an even louder _clank!_ as the weapon's magazine collided with the metal floor. Hannah instinctively dived for the magazine, looking around the room in search of anyone who might catch her. After a few seconds, Hannah let out a sigh of relief.

After looking over the magazine, Hannah finds all twelve of the Hollow-Point bullets tucked neatly inside of the clip. Satisfied, the thief rams the magazine back into the gun, enjoying the very mechanical but yet chilling sound of the magazine locking into place.

Hannah gracefully made her way to the large circular window that overlooked the Vault's atrium. Hannah could imagine how the view wouldn't help to reduce the Overseer's already swelled head. Most of the lights in the atrium were off but enough remained to keep any possible Radroaches from taking up pearch.

Smiling to no one in particular, Hannah made her way to the office's door, holstering the 10mm pistol behind her belt. As she quietly dashed from the office, she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye. A monitor displaying many different parts of the Vault on live display. _Surveillance cameras!_

Hannah breathed a sigh of relief knowing there were no cameras located in and around the Overseer's quarters or office, making the area just that more private. _Dictator gets his special privileges,_ Hannah thought.

Still though, that doesn't mean Hannah's off the hook just yet as she still has to deal with her being invited here the evening prior and her upcoming sneak back to her own apartment. Hannah's heart began to slowly beat faster as she looked at the monitor and accompanying terminal up and down. Not knowing what to do, Hannah instinctively pulled the machine's power plug from the back of the console. Hannah could hear the sound of cooling fans whirl down and the lights slowly drain of power.

 _That definitely solves the getting-back-to-my-place part,_ Hannah thought. Not knowing what will happen to the footage of the previous day, Hannah surely hoped that whatever was seen of her doesn't make its way into the Overseer's or Security's hands. Fortunately for Hannah Holden, upon cutting the machine of power, all the footage from the past twenty-four hours gets cleared from the computer's RAM cache before it can be backed up to storage, effectively letting Hannah disappear. With an insane amount of luck, Hannah manages to get in and out of the office space with no evidence she was ever there.

 _Except for Amata's word, of course,_ Hannah thinks, _but I can deal with her later._

Hannah looked both ways as she escapes the Overseer's apartment. The coast was clear and the sparse lighting makes the Vault's hallways dim and inviting to be one with the shadows. Hannah unholstered her newly acquired weapon of minor destruction as she lightly skipped through the hallways with considerable speed.

Hannah immediately stopped dead in her tracks when a slight out-of-tune whistle met her ears. The sound of her boots skidding against the steel floors did nothing to quiet the girl. "Someone there?" said a nearby voice, flowing with an almost nervous tone.

Hannah immediately did a one-eighty as she saw a man of average proportion dressed in security armor round the corner. The man was about to ask why the girl was out so late but before he could open his mouth, the security officer noticed the glinting of light caused by the polished gun in Hannah's hands.

"Hey, stop right there!" called the guard loudly.

Before he could fully unsheath his riot baton, an immense amount of pain shot through the guard's lower body. As the guard fell to the ground clutching his groin, the blunt muzzle of Hannah's sidearm shattered the cheap plastic visor of his helmet. The man was now on the ground, pinned beneath Hannah's weight.

"Please, I give up! Don't hurt me, I beg you, I have a wife and kids!" the guard pathetically begged as blood dripped from his now mangled mouth.

"Shame," Hannah evilly whispered as she put the tip of her pistol against the back of the guard's neck.

Before the trigger could be pulled, the guard mustered up his remaining strength and rolled his body over. Hannah wasn't expecting the move and fell off his body. Doubly unexpected was the guard's steel toe boot colliding with Hannah's face. She cried out.

"We don't have to fight!" the guard yelled in fear as he got up. The guard's eyes went wide as he saw the most gut-wrenching look of complete hatred and mindless psychopathy coming from Hannah's unnervingly gorgeous face. The blood oozing from her cheek did nothing to boost the guard's confidence. They both stared eachother down.

"No witnesses," was the last thing the guard's ears heard before an incredible boom of noise shook the area around the two of them.

A hollow-point bullet escaped the barrel of Hannah's 10mm pistol, drenching the room with a brilliant display of light for a millisecond. The slug of lead flew through the stale air at a rate of 1,300 feet per second, displacing and slicing the air as it did so. Before the explosion of gunpowder could even be heard, the bullet flattened out as it met the guard's skull and broke through the bone. The projectile immediately began tumbling and tearing through the guard's squishy mind, killing him instantly. The bullet managed to crash its way through the back end of the man's skull and helmet, sending a spray of blood outward, coating the walls. The bullet was finally stopped by the impenetrable mass of concrete and steel of a wall behind them.

Hannah's face remained stoic as the guard's body fell to ground, splaying out in a display of death. Blood began flooding from the head, creating a massive puddle.

"No witnesses," Hannah repeated to herself as a whisper. She lowered the weapon to her hip as she stared at the now lifeless body in front of her.

Hannah promptly stepped over the body and continued running towards her dorm.

Fortunately, the girl had the luck of not running into any more guards. She slowed to a jog and then a walk right before her apartment came into view. She allowed herself a few minutes to catch her breath and have the adrenaline settle down in her veins.

Hannah activated the front door to her and her parent's quarters, having the door open with a louder than necessary screech.

The teenager almost let out a gasp as she saw her father, Tom, sitting in a chair that was turned to face the door.

Luckily, Hannah's dad was fast asleep in the leather chair, clearly waiting to give Hannah a lecture about staying out too late.

She silently thanked whoever bestowed upon her this luck. Hannah made her way to her room.

After stashing the powerful pistol under her mattress, Hannah calmly sat on her bed, leaning back against the cool metal of the Vault's wall. She checked the time on her Pip-Boy's digital clock: 4:54 a.m.

Hannah exhaled a breath that was seemingly held in for the past few hours. The girl fell sideways into her pillow and immediately fell asleep upon making contact.

Hannah didn't care about the bleeding scratch on her cheek, no, she just wanted a rest.

Despite her previous luck, Hannah's sleep would be a restless one and one without any dreams.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait again, I just don't write very fast and I take my time. I originally just wrote the first chapter as a standalone but it is interesting to see where the story is head. Hope you enjoy!**

 **If you give me a review, all your dreams will come true.**


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